Hard Questions, Tough Answers

Yossi Alpher is an independent security analyst. He is the former director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, a former senior official with the Mossad, and a former IDF intelligence officer. Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent APN's views and policy positions.

This week, Alpher discusses whether Salafist Islamist terrorists in the West Bank is another sign of escalation
toward a third intifada, if Netanyahu is inciting Congress and American Jewish leaders against Obama in the wake of
the Geneva agreement with Iran, and what's behind the sharp protests by Druze and Bedouin--minorities who generally
serve in the IDF.

This week, Alpher discusses whether the Geneva agreement between the P5 + 1 and Iran is a "bad deal" and a
"historic mistake" as Netanyahu argues, what about it should realistically worry Israel, what we have learned over
the weekend regarding Israel's relationship with the Obama administration, whether Netanyahu's strategy regarding
Iran and the international community has failed, what all this may say about the election in recent days of Yitzhak
"Boozhi" Herzog to head the Labor party, and whether Netanyahu's invitation to Palestinian President Abbas to speak
to Israel's parliament his inviting himself to a reciprocal appearance in the Palestinian parliament is a serious
initiative.

This week, Alpher discusses Netanyahu's meetings this week with Hollande, Putin, and Kerry to discuss the
prospective Iran nuclear agreement, a possible revival of the French-Israeli alliance of the 1950s and 60s, how
Netanyahu could allow tenders for planning 24,000 additional settlement units to be published last week,
considering how sensitive the current juncture is for Israel's international relations, and whether there was
something unique or particularly worrisome about the latest "price tag" attack launched against Palestinians by
extremist settlers in the West Bank.

This week, Alpher discusses Netanyahu's opposition to an interim nuclear deal with Iran and its consequent strain
on the US-Israel relationship, the Israeli perception of a link between the Iranian nuclear issue and the
Palestinian issue, the emergence of an ad hoc alliance between France, Israel and the Saudis and Emirates on Iran,
who disagrees over what at this juncture, a rating of Netanyahu's overall performance on this issue in recent days,
how will Avigdor Lieberman's acquittal and return to his post as foreign minister. affect Israel's foreign
relations and how will it affect coalition politics in the Netanyahu government,

This week, Alpher discusses the NSA listening in on Israel and whether the repeated leaks from Washington that link
Israel to mysterious attacks on Syrian missiles are in the same category, Secretary of State Kerry's returning to
Israel and Palestine this week and what new initiatives by the two sides await him upon arrival, and why the IDF
needs more money now, with security threats from the Arab world reduced by chaos and revolution

This week, Alpher discusses that given both an intensifying Israeli-Palestinian negotiating process and a spike in
violent incidents with Palestinians, which way we are heading; whether, in addition to the Saudi decision to reject
a UN Security Council seat, there are additional manifestations of anger or disappointment with America among its
Middle East friends; and what was significant about Israel's recent municipal elections for the broader public and
political scene.

This week, Alpher discusses the renewed mystery regarding the cause of Yasser Arafat's death in 2004, what does
Saudi Arabia's election to the UN Security Council followed by its prompt resignation tell us about Saudi-American
relations and the Saudi role in the Iran and Syria issues, and why did it take so long for PM Netanyahu and Finance
Minister Lapid to appoint Karnit Flug (pictured) as new governor of the Bank of Israel?

This week, Alpher discusses whether the Syrian chemical weapons agreement and the Obama-Rowhani phone conversation
evidence of an approaching "new Munich" and Netanyahu's "sounding the alarm," what the outcome depends upon, what
Netanyahu's and Israel's most immediate legitimate concerns are regarding the upcoming round of talks with Iran,
how would a possible administration linkage between Iran and Israel-Palestine, as implied in Obama's UN speech
work, and how seriously does he take reports of growing tensions between Egypt and the Hamas leadership in Gaza.

This week, Alpher discusses the strategic challenges Israel confronts in the United Nations General Assembly
session opening this week, why the Israeli government, alone, is criticizing President Rowhani's moderate
statements, how we get from the Iranian Syrian non-conventional weapons issues to attempts to restrain Israel's
nuclear potential, and why Russia is so interested in a failed state like Syria, and what consequences we can
expect in the wake of two IDF soldiers killed in recent days in the West Bank, and an incident over the demolishing
of Arab dwellings in the Jordan Valley that got Israel into trouble with the European Union.

This week, Alpher discusses the new Middle East reality Israel confronts as a consequence of the US-Russian deal
regarding Syria's chemical weapons, what lessons and conclusions can be taken from the massive commemoration in
Israel of the 40 years since the outbreak of the 1973 war with Egypt and Syria, the significance of a ruling by an
Israeli judge two weeks ago concerning Palestinian incitement against Israel, and the contribution of Osama al-Baz,
who died Saturday in Egypt, to peace.